Norman Reedus is spoiling for a fight. The television actor, who plays crossbow-wielding zombie-killer Daryl Dixon on AMC’s The Walking Dead, has joined Cruelty-Free International in calling for a ban on cosmetics testing on animals in the United States and abroad. “Scores of countries around the world are beating the U.S. to become cruelty-free by banning cosmetics tests on animals,” Reedus says in a release. “Nobody wants rabbits or guinea-pigs to suffer for our vanity, least of all the animals. Let’s stop their suffering right here, right now.”

More than 80 percent of the world’s nations still permit animal tests for cosmetics.

In March, all 28 countries in the European Union—including the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France—banned the sale of new cosmetics that were either tested on animals or contain ingredients that were tested on animals. Although Israel and India soon followed suit with restrictions of their own, more than 80 percent of the world’s nations still permit animal tests for cosmetics. Some, like China, even require animal tests before products can be sold there.

“We are delighted that Norman has joined our mission to end cosmetic tests on animals worldwide,” says Michelle Thew, chief executive of Cruelty-Free International. “Norman is using his voice on behalf of the countless animals who suffer in laboratories in cruel and outdated tests for consumer products. It is vitally important that the U.S. moves with the times and protects animals from unnecessary tests by embracing modern, non-animal science.”

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Norman should be spoiling for a fight with himself and the show he stars in, 'The Walking Dead.' In the last show he was seen carrying five dead squirrels. On the 'Talking Dead' show that followed, it was explained that the dead squirrels were actual real squirrels. With all the special effects and sophisticated props and makeup the show uses, it seems there would be little difficulty for the producers to come up with authentic looking fake squirrels.
So a now former Walking Dead and former Norman Reedus fan has to see Norman's concern about animal cruelty to be extremely hypocritical.
I don't think I'll be watching what was one of my favorite shows any more. Its a bummer. Killing five squirrels for the show is disgusting. They're very intelligent and aware animals.
Some dead rabbits on some previous episodes were probably real animals killed for the show as well.

I was wondering about this as well after seeing that episode of Talking Dead. Did they actually kill these squirrels just for the show? I know in a previous episode in which Lizzy feeds a walker a rat, they made a prosthetic rat, and that no pigs were harmed in the episode where Rick kills the pigs, so it seems odd that they would kill these squirrels. The show clearly does not have a vegetarian ethic since Emily Greene and the guy who played Gareth revealed they were eating pork in the episodes where Beth and Darryl eat a snake and Gareth and friends eat Bob's leg, but did they actually kill these squirrels just to use as a prop and think no one would object to it?